An arrangement between John and Geoffrey of Mandeville in relation to his marriage to Isabel Countess of Gloucester.

Transcript:

Geoffrey de Mandeville gave 20,000 marks so that he might marry Isabel Countess of Gloucester with all the lands and tenements and knights fees, which belong to Isabel herself. He is committed to pay 5,000 marks before the passage of the king in Poitou in the 25th year of the reign of the king and 5,000 marks at Easter of the same year and 5,000 marks at the feast of St John the Baptist in the 26th year and 5,000 marks at the feast of St Michael in the next year.

Notes:

This document is an example of a traditional tax and how John used it. The barons were used to paying fees to the king when they inherited land, or married, or their children got married. This was seen as a fair exchange because they held their lands from the king. However, John could use this to his advantage. When a baron stood to gain a lot of land by marriage, the king could charge a huge amount. At the time, 20,000 marks was seen as a huge sum to pay for marriage. The situation was complicated slightly because Mandeville became much richer and more powerful as a result of this marriage, so John may have seen him as a political threat as well as trying to get money out of him. Eventually Mandeville failed or refused (we don't know) to pay the money and John confiscated the lands of Isabel his wife). An arrangement for William FitzAlan to inherit his medium sized barony in 1214.

Transcript:

New Payments: William son of William son of Alan owes 10,000 marks for holding the land which belonged to the aforementioned William, his father, next to the land which the same William gave to his daughter Petronilla.

Notes:

An enormous sum is being charged to William FitzAlan to take possession of his lands. John’s father Henry II promised to set a reasonable rate and the customary amount for a small or medium sized estate was about £100. Orders from King John May 1214 C54/10 The National Archives

Transcript:

The King sends greetings to the Sheriff of Devon. We have granted to our faithful son, Earl Henry, all the lands which previously belonged to William de Mandeville. Therefore, we order you to give possession of these lands to Earl Henry without delay. Witness myself at Trowbridge, 14th day of May.

The King sends greetings to the Sheriff of Cornwall. We have given to Henry, our son, all the lands which previously belonged to Robert FitzWalter in your jurisdiction. Therefore, we order you to give full possession of these lands to Earl Henry without delay. Witness myself at Trowbridge, 24th day of May.

The King sends greetings to the Sheriff of Devon. We have granted to our well-beloved and faithful Reginald de Vautort, all the lands in your jurisdiction which previously belonged to Robert de Vere. Therefore, we order you to give full possession of the lands and all chattels [material wealth] without delay. Witness myself at Trowbridge, 14th day of May.

The King sends greetings to Geoffrey de Marteny. We order that as soon as you have seen these letters, you take into our hands all the lands of Henry de Braybrook, demolishing utterly his houses, and taking his chattels [material wealth] for your own advantage. Witness as above.

The King sends greetings to the Sheriff of Dorset and Somerset. We order that you give possession to our beloved and faithful Ralph de Raleigh, the manor of Gussage and all chattels [material wealth] found there, which previously belong to William de Mandeville. Witness as above.

The King sends greetings to the Sheriff of Gloucester. We order that you give possession to Henry, son of the Earl, all of the land of the bishop of Hereford in your jurisdiction. Witness myself at Trowbridge, 15th day of May.

The King sends greetings to the Sheriff of Somerset. We order that you give possession to Henry de Courtenay all of the lands in your jurisdiction which previously belonged to Joscei de Bayeux. Witness at Marlborough, 16th day of May.

Notes:

John is taking away the lands of rebel barons and giving them to his son Henry. If you are confused by the use of ‘we’ that is how rulers call themselves, it just means John. Message from King John to the barons of England July 1214 C66/12 The National Archives

Transcript:

The King sends greetings to his earls, barons, knights and other faithful men throughout the realm of England. Know that we are in good health and uninjured, and that everything is prosperous and joyous with us through the grace of God. We send thanks to those amongst you who have sent your knights to serve with us, for the protection and winning of our rights. We ask most attentively, as you value our honour, that those of you who have not crossed over with us to France, you should come to us without delay to the aid of our land which needs to be defended. We ask that you act from now on in such a way that we will forever owe you our gratitude. If any of you think that we hold hatred in our hearts against you, by coming to our aid this hatred will be removed. 9 July, 1214

Notes:

John is writing from a fortress in France. John's campaign in France has been a disastrous failure. The barons are furious and they are worried that John is going to ask for more taxes to pay for more wars. A.D. 1215. Sheriffs.: Andrew Nevelun,; John Travers, In this year landed Louis, son of Philip, King of France, whom the barons of England invited to their aid against the before-named King John; which Louis laid siege to the Castle of Dover. In the same year, William Hardel was made Mayor of London

Notes: This document documents the barons allying with Louis, son of the king of France, against John. SOURCE 6:

Illustration from a Church Chronicle 1280

British Library Cotton Vitellius A. XIII, f.5v

Transcript:

When John, brother of Richard, ruled in England, the king would not accept the appointment of Archbishop Langton by Pope Innocent, and he entered into a great war in England with his barons and Sir Louis, son of Philip of France.

Notes:

This image looks back on events earlier in the century. It shows the monks of Canterbury holding up a poisoned chalice to John. This is a comment on his dispute with the Church over who should become Archbishop of Canterbury. A letter issued by John in June 1215 to the sheriffs of England.

Transcript:

The King sends greeting to the sheriffs, the foresters, the warreners, the keepers of the rivers and to all his bailiffs. Know that peace has been restored between us and the barons and the freemen of our realm, through the grace of God.

You will have seen and heard of our charter which we made, and we order that this charter is kept firmly throughout the land according to the law. We strictly order that you make everyone under your jurisdiction swear an oath to the 25 barons mentioned in the charter. We also order that 12 knights from your county will investigate and put a stop to certain evil customs both relating to sheriffs and their officers as it is contained in the charter itself.

We order that, just as you love us and our honour, and the peace of Our Lord, you should observe everything contained in the charter without exceptions, and you should make the charter be observed by all, in case, God forbid, the peace of our realm should be disturbed once again.

You, our sheriffs, should proclaim our peace throughout our lands, and you should order that this peace should be firmly kept. And we send to you as a testimony to this business our letters patent. With me myself as a witness at Runnymede, on 19 June, in the 17th year of our reign.

Notes:

This extract reveals that John had made peace with his rebel barons. He is sending out orders to his sheriffs, who represent him in the country, to enforce Magna Carta. The peace was in the form of a document which he accepted and became known as Magna Carta, or Great Charter.

If you are confused by the use of ‘we’ that is how rulers call themselves, it just means John. SOURCE 8:

Extract 2 from letters and grants of King John June 1215 C 66/14 The National Archives

A land grant by John to William of Aumale June 1215

Transcript:

The King to William of Harcourt. Know that we have restored to our beloved and faithful count of Aumale the right which he has in the manor of Driffield and we receive thereupon his homage. And therefore we order you to cause him to have full possession of that manor without delay with all the things which pertain to it. With me myself as witness at Sandwich, on the 31st day of August.

Notes:

The dispute over Driffield goes back around 100 years, showing that many of the issues being fought over were not simply issues which arose in the last few years of John’s reign; they went much deeper.